Born Sarah-Jayne Poole in Canterbury, Kent, she joined the RAF as an airwoman in May 1997. Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill was selected for officer training in October 2001. She graduated from the RAF College Cranwell in April 2002 and was commissioned into the Air Traffic Control Branch. She changed branch in 2003 and after completing Flight Operations Officer Training she was posted to RAF Northolt. She was 32 years old at the time of her death, and is survived by her parents, her brother and her husband.